So if you didn’t know I have 3 children by 3 different men. I am married to Dad #3, but still go by my maiden name (’cause I just don’t understand why I should change my name to his, so I didn’t, and he’s cool with that). My kids each have a different last name. [...]

My mother’s day was very strange, but ended up great. Starting out I felt fine, I was up all kinds of early way before my husband and kids. Then they got up and got started on my day. Brian was making brunch, and the kids gave me their presents. Out of nowhere I got these [...]

Go head lil mama: BILLINGS, Mont. – After 41 rounds and 4 1/2 hours, Anna Rose Wright won the Treasure State Spelling Bee Saturday. “I have never seen a bee go this long,” said round judge Lynn Schwanke of Missoula, a previous state bee director for more than 20 years. “It was really remarkable.” Anna [...]

(This is a re-post from 8/28/05…I submitted this along with the pic to Being Mama Daily and they published it! Yay!) My sons think the sun rises and sets on their big sister. She is 5 1/2 years older than Scott, 8 1/2 years older than Todd. My kids have always enjoyed hanging out together [...]

THE HISTORY OF CHILD ABUSEBy Lloyd deMause …By the thirteenth century in the West, abandonment via oblation, or the giving of young children to monasteries for sexual and other uses, was ended, the first disapproval of pedophilia appeared, the first childrearing tracts were published and some advanced parents began to practice what I have termed [...]

Some of ya’ll may recall I make a quilt for each of my kids every year for the holidays. I broke our digital camera last year and took forever taking old-school pics! but here they are, done with a disposable 35mm camera. Each quilt is twin-sized and has a theme which uses pieces of their [...]

Iyende Originally uploaded by trulastar. I’m going through our pics, uploading stuff to flicker. This is from last summer right before she got her mohawk. I look at her and see her baby smile. I remember the first time she grinned at me with her first little tooth…It was like a ray of sunlight or [...]

000_1112 Originally uploaded by trulastar. This pic of my sons 2 summers ago is so sweet. They are 3 years apart and now that my older son is 11 and in middle school sometimes it seems like the age difference is much more. But then they have moments of being best friends again.

This goal was worth doing for me because it has made my home life smoother. I don’t have to apologize or make excuses to my children for using vulgar language. I never cursed at my children but frequently cursed around them about various things. They always looked so disappointed with me when I cursed and [...]

November is packed with lots of family activities, this month we have 2 birthdays and 2 parties, going to 2 movies, the art museum, a few events for my biz, a trip to Cincinnati, and an art show for a friend of mine, and all the holiday thanksgiving dinners with both sides of the family. [...]

My daughter is giving me my first guitar lesson next week! She’s been playing for just 8 months but has picked it up really fast. Her note books are all tattered so I guess I’ll get some new ones this weekend. I am psyched! See more progress on: learn to play guitar

Hey everyone! in case you didn’t know I’m helping to organize MamaGathering 2006. Please send me a pic of you and your baby/child or even a pregnant and/or breastfeeding pic of you for the Mama Gathering 2006 logo! Here are a few examples of what I have so far:More: http://mspmedia.net/mamagathering The photo rotates every few [...]

This is how I looked when I was a wee one: Age 3, no comment. tee hee! Age 4, my mom loves this pic of me because I was up at like 3 in the morning singing my head off. I have never slept well, even as a kid, and often spent my nights driving [...]

OMG, I nearly lost it! Big sigh of relief. Ok, here’s what happened. 2:43 I make Scott’s standard afternoon snack – a peanut butter and jam sandwich, an apple, and a small bag of fritos. 2:45 I open the back door, expecting to see him as he rides in and parks his bike in the [...]

Look at my porch!! I just took these pics a few minutes ago: Generally they pick up before bed but yesterday and today they just blew it off and I let them. Oh well, they can pick it up right quick after school tomorrow. We give away and throw away toys often (my boys are [...]

I took my sons with me for a walk the other day. They are 10 and 7. Scott, the oldest, is in the 5th grade. Todd is in the second grade. They brought a football with them and tossed it back and forth as we walked, Todd running far ahead to catch it after Scott [...]

My sons think the sun rises and sets on their big sister. She is 5 1/2 years older than Scott, 8 1/2 years older than Todd. My kids have always enjoyed hanging out together but the past couple of years (she’s 16 now) she has, naturally, wanted to spend more and more of her free [...]

I don’t care what anybody says: boys ARE different from girls. I know a lot of the differences in behavior are the result of environment. But I suspect that the bulk of the difference is innate. Boys are different than girls. Not better or worse than, just different. They act different. They smell different. I [...]

Todd graduated from kindergarten today! He was so excited. He’s usually hard to wake up in the morning, but this morning when I woke him he got right up. He went into the bathroom and looked at the tub and said, “My tub’s not full enough” and went back to bed and pulled the covers [...]

Iyende’s birthday party was a blast. It was too much fun. I think for a minute I forgot I was a grown-up; I was having just as much fun as the kids. One of her friends got her a signed and framed birthday picture and card from Linkin Park (you can order it from their [...]